U.S. · jury duty reference

Does your employer have to pay for jury duty?

Employer pay rules and job protection for jurors in federal court, the District of Columbia and nine states, with the statute behind each answer.

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The table

Statute text read 2026-10-20. Federal courts, DC and nine states only; other states are not covered.
Jurisdiction	Must the employer pay?	Job protection	Penalty or remedy	Authority
Federal courts	No. The federal courts site says federal law does not require an employer to continue salary during jury service.	An employer may not discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce a permanent employee because of federal jury service.	Lost wages and benefits, reinstatement, and a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per employee. The court appoints counsel if it finds probable merit.	28 U.S.C. 1875; uscourts.gov Juror Pay
Arizona	No. An employer is not required to compensate an employee for absence because of jury service.	No dismissal or penalty; the employer may not require or request that you use annual, vacation or sick leave; seniority is kept and you return to your previous position or a higher one.	Class 3 misdemeanor. An employer with five or fewer full-time employees can have another employee's summons postponed by the court.	A.R.S. 21-236
Colorado	Yes, for the first three days. Regularly employed jurors (part-time and casual included, if hours follow a schedule or custom) must be paid regular wages up to $50 a day, unless the two sides agree on more.	Not addressed in the sections read for this page.	The court can excuse an employer on a finding of financial hardship; the state then pays the juror up to $50 a day for those days.	C.R.S. 13-71-126, 13-71-127
Connecticut	Yes, for the first five days. A full-time employee (a position normally requiring 30 or more hours a week) is paid regular wages by the employer for the first five days or part of them.	No loss of employment and no threats or coercion because of a summons, a response or service. Eight hours of jury duty in a day counts as a legal day's work, and the employer may not require more than eight.	Criminal contempt: a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both. A discharged employee has 90 days to sue for lost wages (up to 10 weeks) and reinstatement. Unpaid jury wages: damages, and treble damages if the employer acted wilfully.	Conn. Gen. Stat. 51-247, 51-247a
District of Columbia	Not addressed. Section 11-1913 sets no wage requirement.	An employer may not deprive an employee of employment, or threaten or coerce, because of a summons, a response, service, or attending court for prospective jury service.	Criminal contempt: up to $300 or 30 days (or both) for a first offense, up to $5,000 or 180 days for later ones. A discharged employee has 9 months to sue for lost wages, reinstatement and damages.	D.C. Code 11-1913
Florida	The protection section requires no pay. Separately, a juror who keeps regular wages gets no clerk payment for days one to three.	No person summoned or accepted to serve may be dismissed from employment because of the nature or length of service.	Threats of dismissal may be treated as contempt. A dismissed employee can sue for compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees.	Fla. Stat. 40.271, 40.24 (2025)
Illinois	Not yet. Through the end of 2026 the statute says no employer is obligated to compensate an employee for jury time. For 2027: the amended text, effective January 1, 2027 (P.A. 104-683), requires employers to pay the regular rate of pay for time on jury duty, except employers with 25 or fewer employees.	Time off to serve, even for night-shift workers. The employee must give reasonable notice, defined as delivering a copy of the summons within 10 days of its issue. No discharge, threat, intimidation or coercion.	Possible contempt, damages for lost wages or benefits, an injunction and reinstatement without loss of seniority, and attorney fees for a prevailing employee.	705 ILCS 305/4.1
Michigan	The sections read set no wage requirement.	It is a misdemeanor to discharge, discipline or threaten you because you were summoned or served. An employer also may not make you work hours that, added to jury hours, exceed your normal day.	Misdemeanor and possible contempt of court.	MCL 600.1348
New York	Partly. An employer may withhold wages during service, but an employer with more than ten employees may not withhold the first $72 of a juror's daily wages during the first three days.	A juror who tells the employer before the term starts cannot be discharged or penalized for the absence.	Criminal contempt of court. Withholding allowed by the section is not treated as a penalty.	N.Y. Jud. Law 519, 521
Pennsylvania	No. The statute says it does not require the employer to compensate for time lost to jury service.	No loss of employment, seniority or benefits, and no threats or coercion, because of a summons, response or service.	Summary offense, plus a civil action for lost wages and benefits, reinstatement and attorney fees. Retail or service employers with fewer than 15 people and manufacturers with fewer than 40 are exempt; an employee in that position can ask to be excused.	42 Pa.C.S. 4563
Washington	The sections read set no wage requirement.	The employer must provide a sufficient leave of absence to serve. No depriving of employment, threats, coercion, harassment or denial of promotion because of a summons or service.	Intentional violation is a misdemeanor. The employee may sue for damages and reinstatement and recover attorney fees.	RCW 2.36.165

Three questions people mix up

"Do I get paid?" is really three separate questions. First, does the court pay you a juror fee? That is the subject of the companion page on jury duty pay. Second, is your employer required to keep paying your wages while you are away? That is the column on the left. Third, can your employer punish you for going? Nearly every state says no, which is why the job-protection column is filled in for almost every row. A state can answer yes to the third question and no to the second, and most do.

Where the law makes the employer pay

Among the places covered here, Colorado and Connecticut require employers to pay regular wages for the first days of service (three in Colorado, five in Connecticut), and New York bars employers with more than ten employees from withholding the first $72 of daily wages in the first three days. Illinois adds a fourth in 2027: the amended section 4.1 says employers shall compensate an employee at their regular rate of pay for time serving on jury duty, with an exemption for employers of 25 or fewer. The federal courts, Arizona and Pennsylvania say plainly that employers need not pay. Florida, Michigan, Washington and the District of Columbia are quiet in the sections read: the protection statutes forbid firing but contain no wage requirement.

Worked example: a 40-person employer in Illinois (hypothetical)

An employee at a 40-person Illinois company is summoned and serves for three days. If those days fall in 2026, the statute says the employer is not obligated to pay for the time, though the employee must still be given time off. If the same service falls on or after January 1, 2027, the amended text applies, and because the employer has more than 25 employees it must pay the regular rate of pay. At a 20-person company the 2027 pay rule would not apply. In both years the employee should hand over a copy of the summons within 10 days of its date of issue to count as having given reasonable notice.

Why the thresholds matter

Employer size appears in four different ways in these statutes. New York's $72 rule starts above ten employees. Illinois starts above 25. Pennsylvania exempts retail and service employers under 15 and manufacturers under 40 from its job-protection rule. Arizona lets a court postpone a summons for an employer of five or fewer full-time employees when another employee is already serving. If your employer is small, check which threshold applies before you assume a right exists.

Edge cases and common mistakes

Using your PTO. Arizona forbids an employer from requiring or requesting that you use annual, vacation or sick leave for jury service. The other states here do not address it in the sections read, which is not the same as permitting it.
Who counts as an employee. Connecticut pays "full-time employed" jurors (30 hours or more); Colorado counts part-time and casual workers whose hours follow a schedule; the federal law protects "permanent" employees.
Double payment. A Florida juror who keeps regular wages gets no clerk payment for days one to three, and a New York juror gets no allowance on a regular workday when wages are not withheld. Check the juror-pay page before you count on both.
Hardship. Colorado lets the court excuse an employer from paying on a showing of financial hardship, and Connecticut has a waiver process under section 51-247c, which we did not read.

Who this is for

Employees deciding whether to ask about pay after a summons, managers and HR writing a jury-duty policy, and small-business owners checking whether a size threshold applies to them.

What this does not cover

Only the places in the table are covered, because their primary text could be read on the retrieval date. California, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Nebraska are among the many states not shown; some of them have pay mandates, and their absence is not a statement about them. This page does not cover union contracts, employer policies that pay more than the law, tax treatment, or whether you can be excused from service. It is general information, not legal advice.

FAQ

Does my employer have to pay me for jury duty?

Federal law does not require it. State law decides, and it varies. Of the places covered here, Colorado and Connecticut require pay for the first days, New York limits what an employer may withhold, and Illinois will require pay from January 1, 2027. Arizona and Pennsylvania say employers need not pay.

Which states make employers pay for jury duty?

In this table: Colorado (regular wages up to $50 a day for three days), Connecticut (regular wages for five days for full-time employees), and Illinois from January 1, 2027 (regular rate of pay, for employers with more than 25 employees). New York bars employers with more than ten employees from withholding the first $72 of daily wages for three days. Other states are not covered.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty?

Federal law, DC and eight of the nine states covered bar discharge or penalty for jury service. The remedies range from a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation in federal court to contempt or misdemeanor charges and lawsuits for lost wages. For Colorado only the pay sections were read, so this page does not say.

Can my employer make me use vacation or sick leave for jury duty?

In Arizona, no: the employer may not require or request it. The other statutes read for this page do not address the question, so check your state labor department.

What changes for jury duty pay in Illinois in 2027?

Under P.A. 104-683, effective January 1, 2027, section 4.1 requires employers to pay an employee at their regular rate of pay for time serving on jury duty. The requirement does not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees. Before that date the statute says no employer is obligated to pay.

Do I have to tell my employer about a jury summons?

Often, and sometimes by a deadline. Illinois treats delivering a copy of the summons within 10 days of its issue as reasonable notice. New York protects a juror who notifies the employer before the term of service begins. Other statutes read here set no notice rule.

Does a small employer have to follow these rules?

Sometimes not. New York's $72 rule applies above ten employees, Illinois's 2027 pay rule above 25, and Pennsylvania exempts retail and service employers under 15 and manufacturers under 40 from its job-protection rule.

If my employer pays me, do I still get the juror fee?

It depends on the state. A Florida juror who keeps regular wages gets no clerk payment for the first three days, and a New York juror gets no allowance on a regular workday when wages are not withheld. Connecticut has the state reimburse the expenses of jurors who are not full-time employed for the first five days.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-10-20. Each link was opened and the figure next to it was checked against the text.

Not legal advice

This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes, court fees and local practice change, and your facts may differ. Confirm anything that matters with your court's jury office, your state labor department or a lawyer before you act. Nothing you pick on this page is sent anywhere.